To me rating comments seems petty, disrespectful, and childish. Maybe I am just too sensitive. There are plenty of comments I don't agree with, but they are legitimate views and opinions from other tech report readers, and I choose to respect those comments nonetheless. I can see rating a comment negative when it is disparaging or disrespectful or both of others people who share their thoughts and opinions, but beyond that, it just does not seem to lend itself to a friendly, respectful discussion. Obviously, others will have a different view. Please share with us what makes the rating system worthwhile. Maybe I am just too sensitive.

1.) separate totals for + and - sort of like how Ars does it on front page comments2.) a + button or other tag for helpful forum posts. I don't think the - is a great idea here, but stuff that's generally helpful would be easier to find that way, especially if you could then sort search results by "helpfulness" ratings.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.

Thanks for your thoughts. It just seems that writing a respectful comment would be so much more constructive. It is easy to click the hands down button. It takes some effort and thoughtfulness to state a contrasting opinion. I have sworn off rating of course, but I feel for folks who state legitimate views and get hammered with hands down votes. So often those votes are just mean spirited. It is impossible to differentiate these from a vote indicating a different view. Maybe it should not be so easy to be unkind?

On the other hand, do you really want to write out a thoughtful response to a comment like: "EA's Origin isn't invasive enough! They have to protect their property, and if that means periodic blood sampling, they are totally within their rights!" ?

I think there are probably ways to improve the system, and I would like to see some feedback on forums posts, considering how helpful people around here usually are, but sometimes it's better for one's sanity to use a quick up/down vote.

"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP"

Isn't it better to just ignore comments such as the example you stated? Maybe that comment was meant to be ironic or sarcastic. The lack of response to certain comments should be sufficient and telling, wouldn't you think? Some comments are best left ignored. Why dignify them with any sort of response? Well, if you folks see some value in the ratings system and I am in the minority, then I will stop pursuing my objective of getting enough support to have the techreport team consider doing away with it.

I like the voting system over at slickguns.com. If you vote something down, you need to give a reason, picked from a list. You can also see who voted which way and why they voted that way. This way, one can at least respond to criticism instead of a random -/+. At least we don't have a rep system.

I just ignore the main-site comment ratings. It's well known that comments get upvoted or downvoted based on how they relate to a handful of the TR community's shibboleths, but a heavily downvoted comment isn't hidden or deleted so it's largely meaningless.

NovusBogus wrote:I just ignore the main-site comment ratings. It's well known that comments get upvoted or downvoted based on how they relate to a handful of the TR community's shibboleths, but a heavily downvoted comment isn't hidden or deleted so it's largely meaningless.

I might agree but your definition of a handful is odd. There are plenty of -30, -40-something comments out there. I try not to down-vote a ton unless I'm also going to write a response to explain why they're wrong to go along with it.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.

I think the best way to interpret the comments system is one of popularity, rather than helpfulness or factual accuracy.

Sometimes I say blatantly obvious or sarcastic things that have no constructive content or are only vaguely relevant to the topic, yet because it's something that is perhaps unanimously loved/hated, my comment picks up dozens of upvotes.Other times I will put a lot of though into a post but because it's a contested or unpopular opinion it will get as many upvotes as downvotes (or hell, maybe nobody understands it and just gets *no* votes!)

If you try and take the comment ratings seriously, you still have much to learn about the internet

Some people ask me why I have always enclosed my signature in spoiler tags; There is a good reason for that, but I can't elaborate without giving away the plot twist.

If you try and take the comment ratings seriously, you still have much to learn about the internet

But can't we rise above that kind of pettiness here at techreport? The question relates to what goes on on the internet.

The front page comments are a wasteland and have been long before all of the Anonymous Gerbils were killed off back in 2004. If you want higher-quality comment and discussion you'll find it here in the forums.

Captain Ned, I appreciate that. I don't care what people say in response to front page posts. I just don't appreciate unattributed negative or positive ratings. Unattributed is bad enough, but voting the comment negative without explanation is lazy at best.

pdjblum wrote:Captain Ned, I appreciate that. I don't care what people say in response to front page posts. I just don't appreciate unattributed negative or positive ratings. Unattributed is bad enough, but voting the comment negative without explanation is lazy at best.

If you were to ask me, this feature was added to cater to the younger kids who grow up on Facebook/Google+ and wants to click the like/thumbs-up buttons for no reason. I play that game from time to time too, due to boredom.

pdjblum wrote:

If you try and take the comment ratings seriously, you still have much to learn about the internet

But can't we rise above that kind of pettiness here at techreport? The question relates to what goes on on the internet.

That's because you are kind of stuck with the thought that the internet is seriousbusiness.

/completely-non-mod-mode-not-that-i-am-one-in-this-forum

The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

In the age of the internet it is very easy to say what you really want to say in impulse, and post it. Clearly, we do these things because we have the foolish notion that we are anonymous on the internet. To a certain extent, we are led to believe our actions have no consequences, thus we are anonymous, but not really. If the recent NSA revelations are any healthy indicator, we have much to fear from our own government going rogue on us. But I deviate from the topic: ratings.

If you downvote someone because you just hate their guts, well, it doesn't show much civility. Yet, there are things done in the internet that in real life face-to-face interactions wouldn't happen that much. Anyone can write a reply using their baser inclinations, yet to have the delicate manner to respond to the issue with tact it is something that not all of us have. Imagine how things go in real life.

I think the current system is meaningless. The ratings are more of a measure of pithy comments, sarcasm, and jokes, and whatnot. Not that I think these kind of comments are unworthy. I think I better system would be where those that are giving upvotes or downvotes are forced to explicitly state the reason for such action. Then we are given a context to judge by ourselves the merits of the case.

Captain Ned wrote:The front page comments are a wasteland and have been long before all of the Anonymous Gerbils were killed off back in 2004. If you want higher-quality comment and discussion you'll find it here in the forums.

Ned is right and some of the most egregious offenders of the comment system are not even regular posters to the forums. They like snark and never ever really explain themselves. I do admit that often I feed the troll myself just to see how the up/down votes play out so I certainly don't help the system.

But once in awhile I will come across a comment that is very thoughtful and thought provoking that I say "Damn why don't you become a regular poster to the forums" to myself.

And then there are some commentators that are just plain broken records. We know what they are going to say even before they say it. ( I am probably this type too, especially when someone asks about what headset to buy. )

I feel as if you guys are saying that the rating system is at best something that should be ignored. No one seems to think that it has sufficient value to keep. Can you guys with the techreport team's ear propose to them that it should be reevaluated?

pdjblum wrote:I feel as if you guys are saying that the rating system is at best something that should be ignored. No one seems to think that it has sufficient value to keep. Can you guys with the techreport team's ear propose to them that it should be reevaluated?

Ah, let the rabble have their bread & circuses. If it keeps 'em on the front page, all the better. Besides, it probably adds page views which is $$ for Damage, Inc.

pdjblum wrote:I feel as if you guys are saying that the rating system is at best something that should be ignored. No one seems to think that it has sufficient value to keep. Can you guys with the techreport team's ear propose to them that it should be reevaluated?

Ah, let the rabble have their bread & circuses. If it keeps 'em on the front page, all the better. Besides, it probably adds page views which is $$ for Damage, Inc.

Kind of what is the modern day Monarchy of the United Kingdom. Anything touched by the Queen is like it is sprinkled with Fairy Dust.

We could have like a "Troll of the week" section? "Pithy comment of the week"

Captain Ned wrote:The front page comments are a wasteland and have been long before all of the Anonymous Gerbils were killed off back in 2004. If you want higher-quality comment and discussion you'll find it here in the forums.

I know a lot of my comments aren't generally considered to be of much value, but I do contribute something useful in the Comments section from time to time.

The reason why I don't come to the forums a much is because the structure of the front page comments section is significantly better: it's much easier to reply to someone's comment, much easier to follow a discussion, and in general just easier to navigate. I feel that the 'standard' forum format here is much more cumbersome, and in some ways a relic from the past.

In fact, I would propose that "Forums" be reformatted to match the structure of the Front Page Comments. I agree that the quality of the discussion in the forums is better and definitely more respectful, but I still get more out of the Front Page Comments because it's just so much easier to read and post there.

I protested TR's half-baked approach to comment ratings back in they very beginning, and still dislike it now. I don't mind permitting upvotes and using them to let the cream float to the top of the thread, but IMO the rest of the bucket should be allowed to settle the old-fashioned way: comments/threads that aren't particularly interesting are ignored and gradually fall to the bottom by last-active date.

At the very most, if dowvotes are to be permitted, IMO they should be hidden, and simply have an internal threshold that triggers a "flag for moderation" notice to the mods so they can deal with anything that blatantly violates TR's forum standards and rules.

chµck wrote:I like the voting system over at slickguns.com. If you vote something down, you need to give a reason, picked from a list. You can also see who voted which way and why they voted that way. This way, one can at least respond to criticism instead of a random -/+. At least we don't have a rep system.

Oh god, I don't mind the comment system but I sure as 'ell don't want it even more invasive, time-consuming, and taking up more space than the actual content.

I am positive the detail wouldn't pop up unless either clicking a star rating or at least hovering the mouse. I couldn't imagine the kind of oafish buffoon that puts that on every comment for everyone to see all the time.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.